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Consulting the Marketing Pilgrim Crystal Ball: Trends for 2013

It’s the last day of the year, time to stop looking back and start looking at the future. Here are my predictions in regard to the hot marketing trends of 2013.

Mobile Done Right

2012 may have been the year mobile marketing found its legs, but 2013 will be the year we get it right. Instead of simply pushing online content out to smartphones and tablets we’ll start creating content specifically design to take advantage of mobile’s strengths. That means content that can be manipulated by touch, better targeting by location and time zones, and ads that are really tools to help consumers do one thing better and faster.

Customer Service Instead of Daily Deals

In 2013, our fascination with daily deals and discount codes will give way to innovations in customer service. Faster, cheaper shipping with a variety of delivery options, access to personal shoppers, and membership clubs will all become more commonplace. Personal reminders and auto-shipments will help customers cut down their to do list and help will never be more than one click away.

Streamlined Social Media

After trying to do it all, 2013 will be the year we start cutting back. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram – social media may not cost you dollars but it costs you time, energy and brain space. Instead of trying to be all things to all people, marketers will begin to cut the accounts that aren’t returning results and spend more time crafting effective campaigns for the remaking one or two.

Video Will Explode, Again

Video was one of the big trends of 2012, but I think it will be even bigger in 2013. More companies will have a regular presence on YouTube, producing videos that educate and entertain. Video advertising revenue will also continue to grow. I’ve seen a significant bump in my Adsense on YouTube account which appears to have come from the site’s recent redesign. I expect these numbers will keep growing as YouTube expands. It’s also time for a competitor to rise up and steal a little of YouTube’s traffic – they’ve been ruling the roost for far too long.

Now For Something Completely Different

2013 will also be the year we discover something new. What? Who knows? Who could have predicted that Pinterest would take the net by storm or that Tumbler would teach us a new way to blog. Right how, there’s a developer working on the next big thing and I can’t wait to see what it is.